Parents often
say that when they go to IEP meetings, the school staff won't answer their
questions or listen to their requests.

Here is a
good approach that parents can use when caught up in the a IEP meeting
quagmire.

1.
Take a piece of paper, draw a table with three columns. Head them like
this:

What Mom
Wants - School's Response - Resolved?

2.
Make your list.

In the first
column, make a list of what you want for your child. Don't get mired up
on how to word it, just write what you think your child needs.

For example,
"he needs 1:1 reading help" or "He needs counseling once a week" or whatever.

3.
Take this paper with you to the meeting.

As the discussions
begin, tell the IEP team that you have a few questions too. At various
points in the meeting, ask very sweetly for whatever is under column one.

Many times
school officials don't respond to parent's questions.

If they don't
respond to you, just say, "I'll just take that as a 'no,' then, okay?"
or "I'll just write that one down as 'no response.""

This will
confuse them because you are not arguing, you are just asking and taking
notes.

4.
Before you leave the meeting, read what you have written and ask if they
agree or not.

If they don't
agree, ask again, very politely, if they could send you a letter about
whatever they don't agree on. Note this in your written record.

This is
like playing 20 questions with the devil.

You won't
convince most people to see things your way by arguing with them. You
may, however, raise enough questions and have enough proof when you leave
your meeting to show that your school district is denying FAPE.

5.
Write your follow-up letter.

After the
meeting send a copy of your filled-in form to the school along with a
letter that says, "Gee, I wish we could have answers to these questions."

I have been
suggesting that parents use this approach for about a year. Usually, it
serves as a great option when you are feeling very frustrated with your
school people and don't seem to be getting anywhere.

The worst
thing that happens is that the entire second column reads "no response"
and the third column is blank. The best thing that happens is that
they actually respond to you and you know where you stand.

If they don't
respond, this shows that the school is not listening to you. This forms
the basis for your position that you are not an equal participant in the
IEP process and that your child is being denied FAPE.

To quote one hearing officer, "More of the same failed approach is not
FAPE."

It's critical
to include objective measurement in IEPs. Without objective measurement,
there is no FAPE, in my opinion. Without objective measurement, there
cannot be a determination as to whether progress is being made.

If one cannot
determine that progress is being made, FAPE is being denied and it is
incumbent on the school district to change their approach.

Measuring
Progress: Here are a few ways to measure progress

Many IEPs
do not include ways to measure progress objectively. Schools often object
to testing the child. Go to the independent specialist or clinic that
evaluated your child and ask them for to information about tests that
can be administered quickly and frequently. Sometimes schools balk at
using standardized measures because standardized measures are used more
for evaluation than for tracking progress.

I have a
student with autism who has been given the PLS-3 for speech. When I talked
to the speech clinician, she said that the PLS-3 can be given every 3
months. You can also use a standardized language sample. This is usually
a formal interview of the child using language that is scored. This is
often tape recorded which gives you the opportunity to hear your child
in a school-type setting. Videotaping is another option. This can be done
on a regular basis.

Second, when
school district balk at using standardized tests, one reason for this
is because the teachers believe that standardized testing is not a valid
a measure of the child's skills because of the child's disability.

You do
have options.

First, you can use standardized testing.

Second, you can use standardized
testing but indicate that it may be of questionable validity because of
the impact of the child's disability. (Many standardized tests have not
been normed for kids with disabilities.)

Third, you can use both standardized
testing and structured sampling -- this will give a better view of the
child.